The outcome of the constitutional referendum appears to have been much more clear-cut among Turks living abroad than for those living in Turkey.
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The outcome of the constitutional referendum appears to have been much more clear-cut among Turks living abroad than for those living in Turkey.
According to initial results, some 62 percent of the electorate outside Turkey voted in favour of President Erdogan’s push for executive powers.
In Germany, where an estimated 1.5 million people were eligible to vote, unofficial Turkish media reports suggest that figure could be as high as 65 percent.
Kenan Kolat, Berlin’s head of the main opposition CHP Party, told the press he was concerned:
“President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will continue to take drastic measures and try to get everything he wants done. But then he will get resistance, and that resistance will also be on the streets. Therefore we need to use every democratic opportunity to oppose all this.”
Ahead of the vote, both Germany and the Netherlands ejected ruling AK party representatives for campaigning there.
Under Turkish law, lobbying on foreign soil is illegal. But, polls suggest Erdogan used the ensuing diplomatic dispute to garner support.